Out in the Midday Sun by Margaret Shennan
The story of British Malaya, from the days of Victorian pioneers to the denouement of independence, is a momentous episode in Britain's colonial past. Through memoirs, letters and interviews, Margaret Shennan chronicles its halcyon years, the two World Wars, economic depression and diaspora, revealing the attitudes of the diverse quixotic characters of this now quite vanished world. The British came as fortune-seekers to exploit Asian trade shipped through Penang and Singapore. They found a mature Asian culture in a land of palm-fringed shores and primeval jungle. Like modern Romans, they built townships, defences, communications and hill stations, superimposed their law and established an idiosyncratic political system. They also developed the tin and rubber of the Malay States, encouraging Chinese and Indian immigrants by their open-door policy. The outcome was a vibrant multi-racial society - the most cosmopolitan in the East.
'An acute and sometimes poignant account of the soft, all too vulnerable underbelly of a society tangoing heedlessly towards the abyss of the fall of Singapore: a tragic, classic case of pride before a fall' -- Charles Allen 'Margaret Shennan describes in fascinating detail the often bizarre and not infrequently terrible annals of colonial Malaya' -- Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'The author mingles family memories with historical insight to explore a corner of Empire often ignored by modern writers' -- Contemporary Review 20040801 'Margaret Shennan.. succeeds in this ambitious project quite brilliantly ... This book is highly recommended' -- Guards Magazine 20040801 'In her fine book, Margaret Shennan does belated justice to the brave and industrious men and women who gave their best to Malaya' -- Allan Massie, Literary Review 20040801
Margaret Shennan was born in Kuching, Borneo (now East Malaysia), was brought up in Province Wellesley and went to school in the Cameron Highlands. She is a prize-winning historian and writer, and one of her first books was her childhood autobiography Missee. She lives in Lancaster.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780719565700 |
| ISBN 10 | 0719565707 |
| Title | Out in the Midday Sun |
| Author | Margaret Shennan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | John Murray Press |
| Year published | 2004-04-12 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |